EU Vote Against Facial Recognition Amplifies Trust Debate

Today, European lawmakers came together to agree on tougher draft AI rules, with two parliamentary committees voting to ban biometric mass surveillance in public spaces.

As European Lawmakers come a step closer to strengthening the Artificial Intelligence Act, it is important to remember why it is being brought in, and ultimately, that is to protect both businesses and consumers alike.

AI remains a tool that warrants a delicate balance with human oversight. Facial recognition helps security organisations and federations to understand and react to potentially disruptive illegal behaviour. As well as regulatory powers, the EU and companies using facial recognition have a duty of care in educating citizens on how, why and what AI is used for in this context; much like companies asking for permission to store and use personal information following the implementation of GDPR.

Explainable AI will also be essential in providing transparency. Rather than a black box where you do not understand why the AI made a certain choice, explainable AI allows the organisation to understand and even course correct AI decisioning, as well as provide the citizen or consumer with the reasons why the AI made that choice.

While there is a way to go until full trust is instilled in AI, the development of the AI Act is a solid leap forward.